Writing academic papers always requires a student to have good command of English. Even some mistakes can influence the final grade. Take time practicing your writing, learn and read new material from article "Common Grammar Mistakes: English Idioms".

When it comes to writing, how you say it can often be as important as what you're saying. This is especially true when it comes to mistakes in grammar and usage. Whether you're working on your Ph.D. or an in-class essay for your high school English class, glaring writing errors will distract from your work and likely lower your grade. You spent all that time researching and writing, why not take a few extra minutes to make sure your work is as good as it can be?

Words That Sound Similar

Below are some of the most common word choice errors that happen because of words that sound or look similar.

affect ... effect

Affect is a verb, which means it should be used to describe the action in a sentence.

The weather is likely to affect the outcome of the game.

Effect is a noun, meaning it's usually the subject of the sentence or the object of the verb.

The effects of the medication can last for hours.

She wasn't sure what effect the construction would have on traffic.

allusion ... illusion

An allusion is indirect reference to a work of art or an idea.

The poem includes an allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet.

An illusion is something that is seen or heard but that isn't real.

The river in the desert was just an illusion, and the boys remained thirsty.

climatic ... climactic

Climatic refers to weather (like climate).

The change in vegetation was believed to be climatic.

Climactic refers to a climax.

In the climactic final act, the audiences finds out who the killer is.

chose ... choose

Chose is the past tense of choose.

You can choose from any of the items of the menu.

She chose the pasta, but later regretted her decision.

compliment ... complement

When you say something nice about someone, you compliment him or her.

She complimented her teacher to try to improve her grade.

Complement refers to two things that make up for the other's weaknesses.

The girls complement each other, and together they make an excellent team.

elicit ... illicit

When you draw something out you elicit it.

The teacher's question elicited several different answers from the students.

If something is illegal, than it is illicit.

The boy's illicit activities attracted the attention of the police.

imminent ... immanent ... eminent

If something is about to happen it is imminent.

The storm was imminent, so we put the shutters up quickly.

Immanent is used to describe an inherent or intrinsic property.

The beauty of the painting was immanent and was not easily described.

Eminent means famous and respected.

The eminent musician received several prizes last year.

lay ... lie ... laid ... lain

In the present tense, lay takes a direct object, meaning it's something you do to an object, while lie has no object - think of it as something you do to yourself.

Lay the book down on the counter.

I'm going to lie down until the party starts.

Unfortunately, it gets tricky in the past tense, because lay is also the past tense of lie.

She lay down on the floor and started to cry.

The past tense and the past participle of lay is laid.

She laid the plates on the table.

The boy had laid the silverware on the table before she arrived.

The past participle of lie is lain (remember that means it doesn't have an object).

Mary has lain on the floor for most of the day.

lose ... loose

Lose is a verb that means to no longer have.

Don't lose that book; you'll need it later.

Loose is an adjective that describes something that is not tight or fixed.

The balloon blew away because the knot in the string was loose.

She tripped over her loose shoelaces.

principal ... principle

The head of a school is the principal. It can also be an adjective that means the most important.

The boy who got in trouble was sent to the principal's office.

The principal reason she failed the test was that she didn't study.

A rule or law is a principle.

He believed in the principle that a penny saved is a penny earned.

sight ... cite ... site

To see is to have sight.

The sight of her freshly-baked pie on the floor was too much for her to handle.